Brushless electric motor with damper winding

ABSTRACT

In a brushless electric motor, a static commutator including thyristors, and an angular position detector for detecting the relative angular position between an armature winding and a d.c. excited rotor are provided. The thyristors are turned on in sequence with a predetermined commutation lead angle by the signals transmitted from the angular position detector. A compensating winding is also provided in addition to a field winding and is wound on the rotor. A d.c. excitation current proportional to the armature current flows through the compensating winding to compensate the magnetomotive force resulting from the armature reaction.

Kuniyoshi 1111 3,749,991 14 1 July 31,1973

1 1 BRUSIILESS ELECTRIC MOTOR WITH DAMPER WINDING [75] I lnventor: Masateru Kuniyoshi, Yokohama,

- Japan [73] Assignee: Tokyo Shiba ura Electric Co., Ltd.,

Kanagawa-Ken, Japan 221 Filed: July 20,1971 2 11 Appl. No; 164,402

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 20, 1970 Japan 45163130 [52] US. (:1 318/254, 318/171,:118/175, I 310/183 511 1111. CL... 110211 29/00 [58] Field 01 Search ..318/171,175,138, 318/254, 439; 310/182, 183, 195,196, 197

I 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,202,774 4/1918 Gilman 310/183 1,082,532 12/1913 Lamme.... 310/183 2,340,669

2/1944 Lange., 310/182 X VARIABLE 0c. VOLTAGE SUPPLY 3,483,458 12/1969 Kirk 318/254 3,106,654 10/1963 Wesolowski 310/183 3,529,220 9/1970 Kobayashi et a1. 318/254 1,241,317 9/1917 Whitaker 318/254 2,844,748 7/1958 Hutchings et al.... 310/183 2/1959 Moore et al. 310/183 Primary Examiner-G. R. Simmons Attorney-Norman F. Oblon, Marvin .I. Spivak et al.

57 ABSTRACT In a brushless electric motor, a static commutator including thyristors,and an angular position detector for detecting the relative angular position between an armature winding and a dc. excited rotor are provided. The thyristors are turned on in sequence with a predetermined commutation lead angle by the signals transmitted from the angular position detector. A compensating winding is also provided in addition to a field winding and is wound on'the rotor. A d.c. excitation current proportional to the annature current flows through the compensating winding to compensate the magnetomotive force resulting from the armature reaction. I

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENIED JUL 3 1 I973 SHEEI 1 0F 2 FIG.

kQIRECT AXIS INVENTOR MASATERU KUNIYOSHI PAIENIEUJUL 1mm 9.749.991

SHEEI 2 0F 2 M FIG. 3

QUADRATIVE AXIS L I BRUSHLESS ELECTRIC MOTOR WITH DAMPER 1 WINDING BACKGRQQJN THE INVENTION characteristics similar to thoseof conventional d.c.

electric motors, but having no mechanical commutator have been developed. Such brushless motors have been found to have many advantageous features, such as easy maintenance, the possibility of high speed operation by elimination of the mechanical commutator, and easy speed control.

As is well known in the art, in a brushless motor it is necessary to provide an angular position detector or sensor, and a static commutator. The static commutator includes a plurality of controllable semiconductor elements, such as thyristors, and supplies an alternating current to the armature winding of the brushless electric motor. The angular position detector detects the relative angular position between the armature winding andthe d.c. excited rotor, and transmits output signals to the thyristor gates of the static commutator, as the rotor of the brushless motor rotates, to cause the thyristors to turn on in a predetermined sequence.

7 It is also generally well known that a close relationship exists between the turn on time of the thyristors in the static commutator and the speed electromotive force, or back electromotive force which is induced in the armature winding by the magnetomotive force of the d.c. excited rotor during the rotation thereof. This relationship has been typically referred to as a commu tation lead angle 7. The value of the-commutation lead angle 7 is extremely important in determining the motor speed and the motor torque. Thus, the motor speed will increase in response to an increase in-the commutation lead angle y, and the torque thereof will I decrease'in response to an increase in the commutation lead angle '7.

Furthermore, the value of the commutation lead angle 'y is also extremely important in gate control of the thyristors in the static commutator. There are two generally known methods of thyristor commutation. One of the methods is forced commutation, and the other is naturalcommutation. The forced commutation method requires the use of a condenser unit for applying commutation currents to the thyristors of the static commutator and requires other switching means for periodically connecting the condenser unit to the thyristors. As a consequence the natural commutation method has been widely adopted recently.

Natural commutation uses the speed electromotive force, induced in the armature winding by the magnetomotive force of the d.c. excited rotor. Accordingly,

the larger the commutation lead angle -y,the better the commutation performed, and if the commutation lead angle becomes negative the thyristors in the static commutator will not operate, resulting in a failure of commutation.

Thus there is a need to fix the commutation lead angle at a certain value. But it is well known that an armature reaction exists during the running operation of the motor. The armature reaction increases in response to an increase in the motor load, and thereby causes the speed electromotive force being induced in the armature winding to distort, and in turn causes the phase thereof to advance, and the commutation lead angle to be reduced. If the commutation lead angle is reduced,

, the commutation of the thyristors becomes undesirable. Consequently, in the past brushless electric motors could not be operated under heavy load conditions.

SUMMARY or TneiNvEN rioN' Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved brushless electr'icmotor. a i

It is another object of the present invention to pro vide a new and improved brushless electric motor in which a static commutator performs smoothly even in the presence of armature reaction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved brushless electric motor which can ,be operated under relatively heavy load con- .ditions. t

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved brushless electric motor in which both the motor speed and the motor torque are not influenced by load variation. I

It is further an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved brushless electric motor in which the leakage inductance within the air gap is compensated.

Briefly, in accordancewith the present invention, these and other objects are attained by the provision of a brushless electric motor which includes an armature having a polyphase armature winding and a d.c.excited rotor having magnetized pole members with a field winding thereon. A static commutator is also provided and is formed of thyristors for alternately applying armature current to the phase windings of the armature.-

An angular position detector is provided for detecting the relative angular relationship between the armature winding and the field winding, and'the signals transmitted from the angluar position detector turn on the. thyristors in sequence with a predetermined commutation lead angle. A compensating winding is wound on the rotor so as to generate a magnetomotive force by applying a d.c. excitation current thereto proportional to the armature-current, thereby compensating themagnetomotive force resulting from the armature reaction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION or rnaoitAwiNos, Amore complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readilyobtained as the same becomes better under-' stood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: n t g I FIG. l is a schematic diagram and illustration-of one embodiment of a brushless electric motor according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating relative positions among an armature winding, a field winding and a compensating winding inone embodiment of a brushless electric motor according to this invention; 7 FIG. 3 isa vector diagram explaining the principle of this invention; and- FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating relative positions among an armature winding, a field winding and a compensating winding in another embodiment of a brushless electric motor according to this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS i 4 Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference I numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and more particularly to FIG. 1' thereof, a revolving field type brushless electric motor 4 is illustrated. On a stator core of the motor 4 an armature winding 5 is wound in star connection. On a rotor 6 a main field winding 7 is wound, and is supplieda d.c. current from a d.c. voltage supply 10 S are turned on in a predetermined sequence and at voltage supply. I, The commutator circuit 3 in this embodiment includes six thyristors S, through S connected in a three-phase bridge connection. The ac. outputterminals X, Y and Z of the commutator circuit 3 are connected to a u-phase, v-phase and'w-phase windings ofthe armature winding 5; 1 r' A conventional angular position detector l4 is also provided and detects the relativeangular position between'the armature winding 5 and the field winding 7, and transmits theaelectrical signals corresponding to detected relative angular positions toa gate control circuit 15. The gate control circuit 15 operates to turn on the thyristors in sequence with a predetermined commutation lead angle. 1

FIG. 2 illustrates'the detailed disposition of the armature winding 5, the field winding 7 and the compensating winding 1'] shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, the field winding 7 is illustrated as wound so as to make two poles. The compensating winding 11 is wound so as to generate a magnetomotive force differing in direction from the quadrative axis by the predetermined commutation lead angle. I H v The operation of the brushless electricrnotor described above is as follows rThe angular position detector I4 is adjusted'to detect the relative'angular position between the armature winding-5 and the d.c. excited rotor '6 so as to transmit a signal when the armature winding 5 is advancedto the quadrative axis of the d.c. excited rotor by an electrical angle y which isthe predetermined commutation lead angle. The variable d.c. voltage supply. 1 and the d.c. voltage supply 10 are switched on, and the gate control circuit 15 is excited. Theangular position detector 14 detects the relative I angular position, and transmits a signal to the gate control circuit'IS, which emits gate signals to a given two of thyristors S; through S to turn them on. Then current flows through two phase windings of the armature 5, so as to generate a magnetomotive force.

A magnetomotive force is also induced by the cur rent flowing through the field winding 7, so a rotational torque is generated by the interaction between the two magnetomotive forces, and the rotor 6 begins to rotate;

The angular position detector 14 sequentially detects the relative-angular positions, and thyristors S, through the desired instant of time as the motor rotates.

In the above operation, if the load increases, the armature current increases but thecommutation lead angle is not reduced and is maintained at-nearly the predetermined value y becausefof the existence of the compensating'winding '11. I t v The principle of the operation of the above brushless electric motor is explained by the'vector diagram of FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 shows the vector diagram of one phase of the armature winding 60f the brushless electic motor. The

vector diagram is drawn with avoltage V supplied to the armature winding as the reference. For simplifying the illustration, it is assumed that the armature current I is in phase with the voltage The speed electromotive force induced in the armature is defined by the predetermined commutation leadangle 7,, and thus.

lags by an angle y, with respect to V. 1 is the magnetic flux induced by the field current so as to induce the induced voltage Q, and lags-by an angle of 90 with respect to E0.

On the other hand, the armature reactionlis generated due to thearmature currentT. So the armature reaction magnetomotive force F; is the same phase as the armature current IT Then the vector F is divided into two vectors FL and FL. The vector F; is the same phase as the vector EL, and the vector F2 is opposite in phase with respect to the vector 'Ii, The magnetic fluxes a, and $2 are induced by the armature reaction magnetollOIIVC forces F; and respectivelylhe magnetic flux dz reduces the field magnetic' flux I and the magnetic flux deflects it. So, the actual-flux & inducing voltage in the a r r na t ure is the total'vector sum. of the magnetic fluxes D 4),, and 4: Then the actual induced voltage which is measured between the ends of the armature winding 5 is shown as vecotr E; which is-advanced relative to the vector I by 90". The commutation voltage used for the commutation of the tl yristors in natural commutation is shown as the vector E It can easily be understood that it the load of the motor increases and the currentTincreases the vector decreases, and the actual commutation lead angle becomes negative;

But as beforementioned, the compensating winding 11 iswound so as .to generate a magnetomotive force I differing in direction from the quadrative axis by a predetermined commutationlead angle 7', This magnetomotive force is designated'inFIG. 3 as a vector The magnetomotive force F' due to the armature reaction is cancelled by the magnetomotive force F due to the induced by the current flowing through the compensat ing winding 11, and the actual commutation lead angle y is thus fixed near 7,, in spite of changing armature current. So the commutation of a static commutator is. ac-

complished smoothly, and the motor can beeper-ated even under heavy load conditions.

FIG. 4 is a view illustratingrelative positions among the armature winding, thefield winding and the compensating winding according to another embodiment of the brushless electric motor of this invention. In this embodiment, the compensating winding 11 is divided into two portions 110 and 11b as shown in FIG. 4. The compensating winding 11a is wound so as to generate a magnetomotive force at right angles to the direct axis, and the compensating winding 11b is wound so as to generate a magnetomotive force at right angles to the quadrative axis. The current flowing through the compensating winding 11a induces the magnetomotive force it, as shown in FIG. 3, and the current flowing through the compensating winding 116 inducesthe magnetomotive force FL, as shown in FIG. 3. The total sum of vectors E, and E, becomes F resulting in the same effect as described above. It canbe easily understood that the currents flowing in the compensating windings 11a and 11b are the same and are proportional to the armature current.

Furthermore, it can be easily understood that if the magnetomotive force E, induced by the compensating winding 11b is made a little larger than the direct axis magnetomotive force E the leakage inductance in the air gap is compensated.

It should now be apparent from the above that in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, the magnetomotive force due to the armature reaction can be compensated by the compensating winding 11. So the motor can be operated without failure of commutation even under overload conditions. Furthermore, the commutation lead angle of the. static commutator can be fixed at a predetermined value even if the load current is varied.

Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. g

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A brushless electric motor comprising:

an armature having a polyphase armature winding;

a static commutator including a plurality'of thyristors for alternately applying armature current to said armature winding;

a dc. excited rotorhaving a field winding thereon;

an angular position detector for detecting a relative angular position between said armature winding I and said field winding; I

control means for turning on said thyristors in sequence and with a predetermined commutation lead angle, said control means employing signals transmitted from said angular position detector,

a compensating winding on said rotor for generating a magnetomotive force to compensate the magnetomotive force resulting from armature reaction; and,

means for connecting said compensating winding to a source of voltage not induced by said motor.

2. A brushless electric motor according to claim 1, wherein:

said compensating winding is wound on said rotor for generating a magnetomotive force differing in direction from a quadrative axis by said predetermined lead angle.

3. A brushless electric motor comprising:

an armature having a polyphase armature winding;

a static commutator including a plurality of thyristors for alternately applying armature current to said armature winding;

a dc. excited rotor having a field winding thereon;

an angular position detector for detecting a relative angular position between said armature winding and said field winding; control means for turning on said thyristors in sequence and with a predetermined commutation lead angle, said control means employing signals transmitted from said angular position detector; and, a compensating winding on said rotor for generating a magnetomotive force to compensate the magnetomotive force resulting from armature reaction, wherein said compensating winding is wound on said rotor in two parts and one of said parts is wound to generate a magnetomotive force at right angles with respect to a direct axis and said other part is wound to generate a magnetomotive force at right angles with respect to a quadrative axis, whereby, a dc. excitation current proportional to said armature current flows through said compensating winding generating a magnetomotive force constituting the sum of said two magnetomotive forces generated by said two parts of said compensating winding and differing in direction from said quadrative axis by said predetermined commutation lead angle. 4. A brushless electric motor according to claim 3; wherein: 7

said compensating winding is wound such that said magnetomotive force at right angles with respect to said quadrative axis is slightly larger than said mag-:

netomotive force resulting from armature reaction.

* s t t a: t 

1. A brushless electric motor comprising: an armature having a polyphase armature winding; a static commutator including a plurality of thyristors for alternately applying armature current to said armature winding; a d.c. excited rotor having a field winding thereon; an angular position detector for detecting a relative angular position between said armature winding and said field winding; control means for turning on said thyristors in sequence and with a predetermined commutation lead angle, said control means employing signals transmitted from said angular position detector, a compensating winding on said rotor for generating a magnetomotive force to compensate the magnetomotive force resulting from armature reaction; and, means for connecting said compensating winding to a source of voltage not induced by said motor.
 2. A brushless electric motor according to claim 1, wherein: said compensating winding is wound on said rotor for generating a magnetomotive force differing in direction from a quadrative axis by said predetermined lead angle.
 3. A brushless electric motor comprising: an armature having a polyphase armature winding; a static commutator including a plurality of thyristors for alternately applying armature current to said armature winding; a d.c. excited rotor having a field winding thereon; an angular position detector for detecting a relative angular position between said armature winding and said field winding; control means for turning on said thyristors in sequence and with a predetermined commutation lead angle, said control means employing signals transmitted from said angular position detector; and, a compensating winding on said rotor for generating a magnetomotive force to compensate the magnetomotive force resulting from armature reaction, wherein said compensating winding is wound on said rotor in two parts and one of said parts is wound to generate a magnetomotive force at right angles with respect to a direct axis and said other part is wound to generate a magnetomotive force at right angles with respect to a quadrative axis, whereby, a d.c. excitation current proportional to said armature current flows through said compensating winding generating a magnetomotive force constituting the sum of said two magnetomotive forces generated by said two parts of said compensating winding and differing in direction from said quadrative axis by said predetermined commutation lead angle.
 4. A brushless electric motor according to claim 3, wherein: said compensating winding is wound such that said magnetomotive force at right angles with respect to said quadrative axis is slightly larger than said magnetomotive force resulting from armature reaction. 